ELECTION HEATS UP

The City Council race for Seat 2, where incumbent Raymond Finn faces challenger Robert Sproc, offers voters a sharp contrast in candidates.

Finn, a former bartender, has a criminal record in two states. Sproc, a former Boy Scout, was a U.S. Air Force captain.

Finn, seeking re-election to a four-year term, was first elected in 1991 after upsetting Chip Shealy, a Northeast High School teacher. In his first term, Finn has gone from being an angry outsider who questioned everything the council did to an even-tempered politician who has managed to garner election support from some of his critics.

Finn was elected with the support of firefighters and police, and has often championed their issues. He was instrumental in ending the city's fire services contract with the county and re-establishing a city Fire Department in 1992.

He also led the effort to put a second paramedic unit in Oakland Park's west fire station, a promise not kept by previous city administrations. Finn also has pushed his own political agenda.

Not long after Finn voted to hire City Manager John Kelly in 1992, Police Chief William Strachan was suspended and fired on administrative charges surrounding allegations he mishandled cocaine and cash in his department safe.

Strachan, who was cleared of all charges and returned to work, later retired and is now suing Oakland Park in U.S. District Court for $2.5 million. In his suit, Strachan claims Finn conducted a "smear campaign" against him.

Finn's brother, Kevin, an ex-Oakland Park police officer, resigned several years ago while under internal investigation. Strachan was chief at the time.

In his 1991 campaign, Finn vowed to support a professional police force, but the department became a political football. Kelly replaced Strachan in March 1993 by hiring a former police officer who also was a mortician.

Finn has been convicted three times of driving while intoxicated. He said residents are tired of hearing about it, but some won't let him forget it. On the night Finn was sworn into office in 1991, a resident stood up at the council meeting and unfurled Finn's arrest record. The pages reached the floor.

Before moving to Florida, Finn was arrested in Massachusetts in 1973 for assault and battery with a dangerous weapon, law enforcement records show. The charges were reduced to assault and battery. Finn was sentenced to a year in jail and given two years probation for time served, according to records on file in the Broward State Attorney's Office.

On the campaign trail, Finn is taking credit for recommending the Police Department start a program that checks up on elderly residents by phone every day. As of Wednesday, however, police said the program has not attracted any participants.

Finn wants Oakland Park to remain a full-service city, but Sproc would like to explore contracting with a private garbage company to save money.

Sproc said Oakland Park needs more long-range planning, and wants residents to get more involved. He also said council meetings need to be conducted in a more professional manner.

"The character of the City Council is embarrassing," Sproc said. "People are not being treated with respect, and that needs to change. I think I can bring a sense of decorum to the council that has been lacking."

Sproc said he would not use the council to promote a personal agenda.

Sproc first ran for council in 1993, but finished third in a three-way race. He recently backed an unsuccessful effort to recall council members Steve Arnst and Layne Dallett Walls. Even though Walls and Arnst have been very critical of Finn in the past, they are supporting Finn's council bid this year.

Sproc, like Finn, opposes the Archdiocese of Miami's efforts to operate a homeless shelter at the former Player's Club.